The growth company's recipe for success

We met Sara Nylén, HR Manager at Fortnox, to discuss innovation as a tool for business building, and how to get employees on board.

In the early days of Fortnox, there were many slow years with red figures. The company started in 2001 and having its accounting on the web had not really taken off. In 2010, internet banking broke through in Sweden, and that's when Fortnox took off. I think consumers felt that if you can do your personal banking online, you can also put your accounting in the cloud, explains Sara. I think our growth journey shows that we have persevered and that the people in the company really believed in the business idea from the start. As I said, it took a couple of years for the market to mature for web-based programs. I am absolutely certain that our We owe our success to innovation and to having people who are driven to develop our main focus - helping small businesses to improve their everyday lives - in new ways.

I try to coach employees to constantly solve problems in new ways

 

You mentioned that much of your success has come from innovation. How do you embed the innovation drive in your organization?

By constantly coaching our employees to try to solve bigger and more problems in new ways, using the technology available. Innovation is a natural part of our daily work and also one of our values that is well anchored throughout the company. We have a very innovative climate where we allow employees to try and make mistakes.

Continuing on the theme of innovation, what did you see missing from the market in terms of the services Fortnox offers?

It was probably not that we lacked an accounting program, but what our founder realized early on was that a technology shift was underway and what opportunities it created for small businesses. Fortnox's vision was that users of the program would not have to worry about backups and always have the latest version embedded in the system. An important part was also that everything in Fortnox should be internet-based. This has made it possible for support staff and customers to be in the same view and for customers to get help with their accounting in real time.

Allowing employees to try out new roles is our recipe for success.

 

As Sara described, a large part of Fortnox's innovation seems to come from their driven employees. Sara herself thrives in the role of HR manager in a passionate environment. It is a privilege to work with such dedicated employees. We are changing a lot in the organization to be able to meet the needs of customers and the market and this naturally requires a lot of our existing employees - fortunately they are very driven and proud of their workplace.

As we grow in numbers, it is even more important to maintain the company culture

 

How do you maintain that enthusiasm among all employees as you grow?

We welcome many new colleagues and must constantly look to stimulate those we already have. As we grow in numbers, it is even more important to make sure we maintain the culture we are very proud of and transfer it from a small company to a fairly large company that is currently in two locations. 

I think a lot of it is about daring to try out new roles and invent new positions that you see are needed in the organization. Partly to satisfy employees' needs for development, but also to meet and cover gaps that arise. We are not afraid to try out new roles in different ways where the role description is not completely clear, it is usually a recipe for success!

ABOUT FORTNOX AB

Sweden's leading company in web-based accounting that was named a Super Company in 2018. Turnover in 2018 amounted to SEK 374.4 million, an increase of 37.5 percent.

Read more at www.fortnox.se